Your attitude affects everything you do and everything you experience – from work to play, from friendships to marriage and even to (or especially to) parenting. Positive attitudes help make boring days fun and difficult tasks rewarding; while bad attitudes can destroy everything in your path.

We know all of this; but, it is still so easy to get stuck in a bad mood, to respond to situations in anger (like I did once) and even to disconnect from everyone and everything. And, just when we are having our own little self-pity party, we have the privilege of experiencing everyone else reflecting our attitude back toward us.

So, how do we keep the awesome good attitude and fend off the evil bad attitude?

1. Identify your stressors.

Know what things put you on edge and make you more susceptible to a bad attitude and bad responses to other people.

Kids will say some of the most interesting things. Sometimes it makes you cringe, sometimes it makes you want to laugh and sometimes you are just left speechless. But, when it comes to prayer, I am often in awe of what children will say to God.

I have the awesome privilege of working with children – at home, of course, and at church. Some of the most amazing experiences I have in these roles come when I pray with children.

Kids may say the darnedest things at the worst possible moments; but, I have also heard them say some of the most

Actions may speak louder than words. But our reactions tell an interesting story that reveals our true character.

Many people try to manipulate the perspective of others through their actions. They try to portray a specific desired identity with the things they say and do. But, our re-actions reveal whether or not our actions are honest.

In his book, Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson writes that “our reactions reveal who we really are” (p.99). I have also heard similar thoughts though the years. I was once told that it is not the hard times in life that define who I am. Instead, it is how I respond to those hard times that will define who I am.

Growing our reaction muscles (reflexes to what happens in life) takes intention. Mark also writes about these instructions that Jesus gave to condition those reflexes:

Pray for those who persecute you.

Love your enemies.

Bless those who curse you.

If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

It is not enough, though, to just know how we should respond. We need to be intentional about our responses; and, we need to practice.

We can’t just give up the first time we hit trials and hard times. We have to keep working at it, keep learning from our experiences, and keep striving to do better.

So, how are you known? What do your reactions reveal about you, your character, your attitude, your view towards others? Maybe a better question is how do you want to be known?

Question: Have you had an experience where your reaction to a situation caused others to see something different in you than what the initial situation would have shown? You can share your story by clicking here.

In honor of my birthday, I would like to celebrate you. Thank you for joining this growing community and adding to the conversation. It is a blessing to share my thoughts with you and then for you to share your thoughts and responses. I am excited for the conversations to come.

So, today, I would like to give a gift. I will give away one of my favorite books as a free gift to one lucky person. What are my favorite books? Well, there are many; but, these are a few that have had an impact on my life:

It was kind of fun to watch the numbers climb and to take pictures…as long as we stayed in the car!

My family just returned from a road trip to the homeland – Texas. I love going back home. I enjoy seeing friends and family, checking out everything that has changed – and everything that has not changed. And, I always look forward to taking in some of the local dining establishments that I loved while growing up and that you just can’t get anywhere else.

However, this trip brought something that I do not enjoy so much … intensive, never-ending, no-hiding-from, make-you-want-to-crawl-inside-of-an-air-conditioner heat!

I get anxious about things. I want something to happen. I get my mind set on something and I want it to happen now. And, I want it to happen in the way that I envision (or better – according to my perspective).

I get frustrated when things don’t happen in the way that I want them to happen.

And, I get stressed as I question how things are supposed to work out and when things are supposed to happen – especially when there appears to be a lack of progress.

What better way to end an incredible week of Vacation Bible School than to celebrate with the whole church! Our church took the opportunity this weekend to remember, celebrate and share the experiences of what God has done through VBS.

A wild and exciting previous four days brings us to the fifth and final day of Vacation Bible School. It has been an amazing, incredible, life-changing week – for the kids and for the teens and for the adults!

[This is part of the Why We Cannot Wait For Summer Series. Have you seen the other posts yet? Click here to see the list of posts for other days of Vacation Bible School!]

Today is a bittersweet day. The day represents the culmination of months of effort and anticipation. It has been a great week and it has been a long week. It has been an adrenaline rush. Everyone is tired and yet energized. There is some relief that we are drawing to a close; but, I would do it all again next week, and the week after, in a heartbeat!

Wild Bible Adventure Clues

We like to have fun – even when introducing the Bible Story. Each day we had a clue that would give us a hint of what the Bible Story would be for the day. The only problem read more

The biggest event of the year, Vacation Bible School, changes lives! Definitely, it is Day 4 of VBS!

The fourth day of VBS has been completely centered upon the message of Jesus and the relationship he wants to have with each one of us. Was the day impactful? Absolutely.

[This is part of the Why We Cannot Wait For Summer Series. Have you seen the other posts yet? Click here to see the list of posts for other days of Vacation Bible School!]

Talking To God Changes Things

We have definitely learned that prayer is a powerful tool that God has given us to use. In fact, we have a phrase that we use often with the kids: Talking To God Changes Things. This helps us to remember that prayer is simply a conversation with God and that it has the power to change what happens.

Impactful Worship

The worship all week has been incredible and today saw the impact become even greater…children worshipping, not because it is what everyone else is doing, but because they want to connect with the One True God! read more